Implication for practice and research

■ The risk of VTE in users of OCs containing desogestrel, gestodene, cyproterone and drospirenone is around twice that of levonorgestrel
OCs users.

■ Differences in VTE risk should be taken into consideration when prescribing OCs.

Context

Oral contraceptives first introduced in the 1960s contained high doses of estrogen and progestin. These were associated with
increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), including VTE, and high estrogen dose was thought to be responsible.1 In subsequent years, OCs containing lower estrogen doses and different progestins …